#Cartoon NEWS! new Tron: Uprising clips

Finally some news about the upcoming new Tron cartoon!

Disney has released some new clips and video of Tron: Uprising, which will start airing on May 18th!
Check it out:



Looks nice :)
The mix CG/2D animation is certainly interesting.



Good thing is this won't be an on-going series but, you could say, a "limited series" of sort. Only a certain number of episodes will be made, narrating a self-contained story.

TV NEWS! TRON Cartoon preview!

It seems I wrote my Tron Legacy review just in time!

Here's Tron: Uprising preview trailer from the ComicCon, released just now officially.
What a coincidence!



Yes it will feature a unique mixture of 2D (characters) and 3D (The Grid).
It will follow Beck (voiced by Elijah Wood), the program who leads the uprising on The Grid. The whole thing takes place right before the film Tron: Legacy.
Also lending their voices to this series are Lance Henriksen, Mandy Moore, Bruce Boxleitner and Paul Reubens.

The 10-part micro series will air on Disney XD this fall, and then pick up for a regular spot in the summer of 2012.

MR Tron Legacy

For a very long time since the 80s, director and Tron-creator Steven Lisberger had been trying to launch a sequel to his beloved cult movie. But since the series had never really been a big mainstream hit, a sequel never was on Disney's top priorities. That is, until now!

Lisberger pitched many, many screenplays these last decades.
On top of these were mostly stories featuring either the son of Alan Bradley or the son of Kevin Flynn, in case the original actors were starting to get older for the roles and/or wouldn't manage to be part of the new movie.

The former ended up serving as basis for the Tron video game.
This movie is about the plot following the son of Flynn.

Most of these scripts were either called Tron 2.0 or Tron Legacy - which are in my opinion, quite catchy names and fitting for this universe.

Let's check out the sequel called Tron Legacy~

Movie: Tron: Legacy
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Release date 2010
Genre Science fiction
Country USA

Note: I already briefly reviewed this movie after watching it.
But let's have a more in-detail look, shall we?

Tron: Legacy is the sequel of the original 1982 Tron movie.
So, yes it's another one of these sequel made a decade (and more) after the original but thankfully it doesn't suffer what most Die Hard, Indiana Jones or Rocky go through.. It isn't about an hero feeling to old or going back to what made him popular in the first place. Instead, the plot feels much like a continuation of the original.

Though Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn and CLU, and so does Bruce Boxleitner reprising his roles as Alan Bradley and Tron.

Time for the New Generation!

The story picks up in 1989, that is 7 years after the original movie. Kevin Flynn, software engineer and our main character in the earlier movie, is now the CEO of ENCOM.
One day, Flynn disappears without a trace with no indication to what happened to him...jump 20 years later, we're now following Sam Flynn, his son. Sam is ENCOM's biggest shareholder but shows no interest in this company. He even makes a joke outta the company whenever he can.
Flynn's old friend Alan Bradley, now executive at ENCOM, continues to keeps an eye on Sam.

One day, Sam goes to Flynn's old arcades to check out a signal that has been coming from under the building. A message left by Flynn? There, he discovers an hidden computer based on the old tech developed by ENCOM....and finds himself warped inside the machine....into The Grid!
The Grid is the name given to the virtual world inside the computer visited by Flynn in the first film. It seems immediately after the original story, Flynn started working on his very own copy of The Grid using the technology he aquired once he became CEO.

Old things never get old.

Sam has to fight for his very life in The Game Arena, against a mysterious program called Rinzler. They find out he's a real person, a User, and take him to see CLU-2, the digital copy Flynn left behind to oversee The Grid.

Sam escapes during LightCycle matches thanks to a program called Quorra who saves him. She takes him to the Outlands where he finds an older Kevin Flynn who's been trapped inside his own computer all these years. Flynn tells him his story, how he created this world, his new and improved perfect system with the help from CLU and Alan's security program Tron all those years ago.
Everything was perfect and ordered until the day they discovered the "ISOs". Isomorphic algorithms, a new lifeform born into The Grid by itself. (as seen in the comic Tron: Betrayal)
But soon, CLU began to see tham as a threat to everything they built rather than a gift and started to hunt them and kill them all. (as seen in the game Tron: Evolution)
After this war and genocide, Flynn had to hid himself.

Now, they need to go back to the real world to be able to delete CLU from there, but CLU himself is trying himself to take this occasion to escape The Grid and conquer that world as well.
Along their journey, Sam, Quorra and Flynn have to find the software named Zuse, meet up with a "resistant" called Castor, fight against Rinzler and the true story behind Tron's disappearace will be revealed as well!
In the end they all try reaching the Portal to the way out and battle for The Grid in an epic conclusion... in the aftermath, Sam escapes...but not alone!

Lots of upgrades!

The movie was directed by Joseph Koskinski.
With a modern director like him, the Tron-verse gets an all-new touch and dimension, and I'm not even mentioning the 3-D obligatory aspect of Hollywood flicks these days.
More nervous, less imaginary but anchored in realistic physics and stylish graphics, the new Grid looks nothing like the original.
Yet, after the video game Tron 2.0 in the early 2000, I was already prepared for this kind of take.
Geeks and fanboys might argue its canonicity, but there's no discussion the game left its mark on the franchise one way or another.
The new direction continues the progression into blue tones and monochromatic sophisticated architecture. (amusing though, there was a whole sequence in Tron 2.0 that took place in the old original Grid which contrasted a lot with the new one)
Even the new powered LightCycles seem inspired by Tron 2.0's upgraded SuperCycles.

This new Grid is a whole new beast, separated from the original, built by Kevin Flynn from scratch.
The movie might lack the original's more fantastical aspect and 8-bits inspired focus that made the original's charm, but Steven Lisberger was still fully implicated on board and served as producer this time around.

Tron's Legacy!

A pretty straightforward yet interesting plotline, a very dynamic movie, with lots of good action sequence that do take pleasure of playing with the movie's concept. (but not enough.. I would have liked more fun in the fact that all this is programs in a computer, more original way to "derezz" their foes would have been nice)

The pacing takes its time in the first half but it picks up a bit more in the second part.

The universe of The Grid doesn't make much sense, sure. It was built upon the original's structure, which was a way to characterize what 8-bits game would have looked like in real life. Now it's all "next-gen"-ysh and all...but faces are still in black & white, people can still be deleted into pixels, etc.. Sure, actual hi-tech modern games look nothing like that, but this strange mixture of modernity, reimagined old Tron universe and anthropomorphized computer data has its unique charm. It gives Tron Legacy a pretty stylish look and a unique design.
It doesn't look like the original at all, yet I can definitively recognize this as "Tron-like" if you get what I mean.

The entire sountrack of the movie was composed by the unique electronic musicians Daft Punk!
Which kinda refers to the original whenever it wants too, and is also as unique as the film's visuals.
Superb, epic. One of the best scores I've heard in recent ages. They need to make more scores!.

Overall, it's a fantastic movie!
I personally loved it!

A daring sequel to the Classic Tron.

The special effects are pretty kickass. Usually with tons of CGi (the use of 3-D on theaters which I tend to avoid), blockbusters, modern cinema and all it tends to give me an impression of "video game", but not much this time even it that doesn't make sense taking into account the story here. I accepted this universe as "Tron's". Unique, "techno", cyber-futuristic.
The young CGi Jeff Bridges didn't annoy me much, though much more apparent on theaters. People made such a fuss about him while he's just supposed to be a digital copy of Flynn. The CGi Bruce Boxleitner/Tron looked much better. (but did have less screentime, so..)

It might have lost some of the original film's charm, which I still consider amongst my favorite movies of all time. But it was faithful in spirit if not in tone. A natural evolution of the original.

The music can be easily regarded as the best aspect of it, if not the primordial, after all computers and music can go along just as easily. (just check out the tons of experimenting, musically, that has been done with computers on the last decade!)
From the theme songs to the sound effects, perfect audio production from start to end.

Great movie I'd recommend to Tron fans, scifi fans, anyone who's searching for a good entertaining moment or just a decent blockbuster.
Watch it!

I give it:

2.5 / 3 UFOs!

VGR Tron Evolution

With Tron recent revival, Disney decided to try capitalizing on this newly acquired fame for the series and make some profit out of this new mainstream appeal the franchise was getting.

Thus, they decided to make some tie-ins around the release of Tron: Legacy.
Both prequels.
Like Tron already had in the past - while there wasn't a movie around - a game and a comic.
This is a review of the video game that was released before the new Tron movie.

VGR: Tron: Evolution
From Propaganda Games/Disney Interactive
Played on Xbox 360
Also available on PSP, PS3 & PC

Type Action/Beat 'em all/parkour platformer
Year 2010

For the release of Tron Legacy, Disney revived the franchise with new tie-ins.

The first original Tron game was a product of its time. A first person shooter. The FPS genre was on a boom, following Halo and the likes.
So it never came as a surprise to see the new Tron game being a Prince of Persia-like inspired Parkour/platformer. A genre that was getting pretty popular recently (Assassin's Creed, Splinter Cell Conviction, The Saboteur...)

This story arc called "Evolution" aims to fill-in the gap of time between both Tron movies, following Jeff Bridge's character Flynn in the years following the liberation of The Grid in the original movie.
This game takes actually place after the comic book "Betrayal" and serves as its direct continuation.

Our anonymous hero finds out about Clu's evil intentions...

Tron Evolution tells the story how the now clearly evil program Clu-2 became in charge of the grid and software engineer Kevin Flynn ended up imprisoned inside The Grid.

The story opens with some video footage of Flynn's filming. He's just discovered Isomorphic Algorithms, original spontaneous life, growing inside the virtual world of The Grid he has now created under his old arcade room. He isn't responsible for these ISOs, but feels the need to help them evolve as new intelligent life. They're able of free will and are disliked by Basic Programs inside the digital reality.

Flynn suspects Clu from the recent murder of some ISOs, so he decides to create a new Monitor program to help him.
The player gets to play as Anon, the security program written by Flynn to investigate this conspiracy.

Clu gets partially in charge of The Grid alongside Radia, the leader of the ISOs. One day when Anon decides to follow a female program, Quorra, trying to get in to see her mistress, a virus named Abraxas attacks..only to have Anon interfers.
After this affair, Anon gets to see Flynn and Tron ambushed by Clu and some of his guards. They are "killed" while Quorra also saw this happening. Both become fugitives in The Grid.

Now armed with the proof of what Clu has done our anonymous hero has to explore the Grid to put a stop to Clu before its too late and all the ISOs are destroyed...

Simple "classic" modern platform. Why change a successful formula?

The game is a third person action game. It even contains some racing elements.
It's basically a gameplay focused around acrobatic platforming and combat. The platforming is quite parkour-like. With some dynamic combat thrown in, plus some (light) puzzles added in the mix once or twice, it does make this game feel a lot inspired by the (more successful) Prince of Persia games to which this game seems to be riffing off.

There's no "real"  threat of dying here. Once Anon dies he's simply rebooted (some platforms away).
It isn't quite the no-death occurrence of the 2008 Prince of Persia, but it's no real danger either.
Also, there's no actual energy or health bar system. It gets empty, sure. But instead of recharging itself automatically à la Halo, you have to touch/jump over special marked elements of the level to charge it again.
Not quite automatic, and better in my eyes.

It's like they wanted to base this game's mechanics around that series, maybe bringing along the success they've known recently. And force a Tron-themed world around it by using minimalistic colors, tons of grey/black gradients and flashy neons here and there.
It makes the game look a bit boring and repetitive at first. (though you'll see some better more original levels near the second half)

The game, as the second "main" Tron video game, takes a bit from Tron 2.0 along the way.
(even if nerds will tell you it isn't canon anymore, etc.)
The way viruses look like and infect stuff is taken directly from Tron 2. So does some other elements from the design and even a bit in the gameplay aspect. (doors, HUBs, sounds..)
From the gameplay mechanic however, it is only lightly inspired by the much better progression system of Tron 2.0. There's a light RPG-like system where you can buy (in exchange for space storage units you'll gaing over the game) new aptitudes or follow your upgrades/levelling. New aptitudes for Anon/the defenses, his disk/attacks and even the vehicles you'll get to play with (a sin the classic Tron arcade game, the Light Cycles and the Tanks make both a comeback). Both the singleplayer and multiplayer modes (more on that below).
But weapons are only disks (variations of disks anyway). And it's pretty simple and doesn't offer much to play with (unlike Tron 2 software-inspired system).

The objective in the game is to "derezz" enemies and follow platforming sequences. It's sort of linear (moreso on the beginning, it gets a tiny bit larger later on).
You're never really lost since at first the game will show you the way to follow with "bits" laying the way. (after that, a tap of "select" will highlight 'em again in later parts)

There's a singleplayer mode, not too short and even kinda long for this kinda game, and a  multiplayer mode.
The multi is pretty generic, thrown in this only to avoid people complaining it isn't present. Pretty basic, you can play various modes online. Light Discs/Combat focused modes and vehicle modes. (both the Cycles and the Tanks)
It's all pretty basic. Deathmatches, Capture the Flags... Up to 10 people!
I only played it once or twice. It wasn't bad per say..but note fantastic either. Generic.

Speaking of which, the light cycles make a comeback as usual. But you'll only play actual races in the mutliplayer. The Solo campaign makes use of the Cycle only to flee a scene/escape enemies/follow something, etc.. There's still the energy wall created behind the bike but since you aren't actually competiting in races it won't play a part in the gameplay...

The story is decent, if you're a fan of Tron.
Kinda strange to follow if you missed the movies I'd guess... 

Good news, some actors from the movie reprise their roles for the game. (such as Olivia Wilde)

The music's easily the best part of the game. Pretty similar to Tron 2.0 overall. (in tone, in tunes...)
Classic Tron in some rare occasions and pure Tron Legacy in others.
It was composed by Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco and Kevin Manthei, and some music was lifted straight from Daft Punk's Tron Legacy soundtrack. (including a new exclusive track)
The score works great during the game.

Overall, it isn't perfect, far from it!
But it was fun. And one of those rare case when a licensed game isn't complete garbage...

The first half of the game is easily the worst, most repetitive, most boring part. But once you'll get the hang of it, you might even have fun with it! (particularly once you upgraded all your 4 discs and will get used to the combat system)

It gets a bit long though...

It seems like beneath this whole tie-in game, behind the deadline Disney imposed Propaganda Games to coincide with the movie, lied actually a good game. But due to restrictions (time? budget?) it got sort of rushed. Some parts of the game, while you'll be wandering around the city before the action kicks in, it seems that at some point this was a much trued to Tron 2.0 "sequel".
Perhaps the "real" game we would have gotten would have featured a free-roaming open-world city to protect?
Not linear levels, but an actual story focused Tron sequel/prequel?
Some bits here and there do hint at a much larger project...
Specially the way the story jumps at you at various points while you'll be walking around platforms, from combat-heavy zone to another, with no hint at a storyline..then, Bam! Plot happens...

This game's unrelated to the Wii/DS game Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids, which is another prequel to the new movie. Featuring a completely different story and gameplay (and visuals!).

Anyway, I woudn't recommed this game to everybody, due to it being cheap, simple, boring and repetitive.
BUT I'd suggest checking this out if you're a fan. You might even enjoy it.

I give it:

1.5 / 3 Quacks!

CBR Tron: Betrayal

 

With Tron revival recently, Disney decided to try capitalize on this newly acquired fame and make some profit on the mainstream appeal the franchise was getting.

Thus, they decided to make some tie-ins around the release of Tron: Legacy.
Prequels.
Like Tron already had in the past while there wasn't a movie around, a new game and a new comic.
This is a review of the comic book that was released before the new Tron movie.

Comic title: Tron: Betrayal
Art by Jeff Matsuda, Andie Tong & Pete Pantazis
Story by Jai Nitz & Starlight Runner Entertainment
Published by Marvel Comics/Disney Press
From 2010

Lineup Tron
Format: Trade paperback collecting the two issues of Tron: Betrayal plus all new pages opening and closing this whole complete Graphic Novel.

For the release of Tron: Legacy, Disney brought an all-star cast of creators to bring some much-needed content to the Tron Universe.
Apart from a short comic book mini in 2006, the universe of Steven Lisberger's movie hadn't been really much explored in this format.

This story arc called "Betrayal" aims to fill-in the gap of time between both Tron movies, follow Jeff Bridge's character Flynn in the years following the liberation of The Grid in the original movie.

The original Grid (TM)

The book starts of with a complete recap of the events of the original Tron movie, drawn by Jeff Matsuda in a more cartoony way than the actual "Betrayal" story afterwards.

It's actually a pretty good recap of the original movie's storyline, so check out that plot in my previous Tron review :P

Anyway, to put things up quickly, Kevin Flynn entered the virtual reality called The Grid while he was working out for ENCOM. With the help of the program Tron, he was able to defeat the MCP and Sark, evil programs in charge of ENCOM's servers. After that adventure, Flynn became the CEO of the company and decided to turn it into one of the best videogames & software companies in the world!

Always beware of that evil doppelganger you create yourself based on you own image!

The story then picks up in 1983.
Flynn has copied the content of the old "ENCOM 511" computers, and started building in his own home and then under his private video arcade a new and improved virtual world on his new and updated "ENCOM 711" computer.
Flynn designs it as a world he will be able to improve and build upon, testing the limits of this digital frontier and his imagination.

This new Grid starts getting more and more complex, with lots of sentient programs populating it bit by bit.
To help him along his task, Flynn brings Tron back from the old 5-1-1 to help him out.
Then, required in the real world with his son Sam's birth (and later Sam mom's death) and a company to run, Flynn ends up needing to recreate his old mirror image Clu and gives life to an all-new Clu-2 at the same time.

Tron manage to be an integral part of the story and get more screen time than the actual new "Tron" movie.

The more time passes, Flynn seems to be stretched as far as it gets between this dual life.
Flynn is a dreamer, a software engineer. But also a man out of touch.
He wants to explore and play around in the Grid, but he has ENCOM to run. He's needed to help bring peace and stability in the virtual world, but also as a son who needs his father around.
Flynn comportment gets more and more erratic, absent. One day he's bored, at a meeting, then he disappears a couple weeks in the Grid.

Meanwhile, life found its way in the computer, from the very same lake Flynn built. Self-thinking "free" isomorphic programs called "ISOs". These new instable creatures start destabilizing Clu-2's perfect harmonized world. He calls their very nature chaotic. Dangerous.
But life is random. "Real" life anyway.

Clu-2 gets more and more dangerous himself when he decides to get in charge of the Grid, having Tron removed from all of his information, shuts down Shaddox, a program who helped rebuild this new Grid, and decides that Users like Flynn are the source of that same chaotic instability that has been threatening his perfect system.

Overall, it's a quite simple yet decent story.
The art is mostly top notch. I love the recap of the original movie, accenting on Tron (himself!) role in the original movie.

It's a story about life and it's very unique nature. Clu-2 has a program, needs a purpose, a function. Which he might take from Flynn originally, but gets more and more divergent.

Life is created artificially by Flynn first.
Then Sam Flynn is born (main protagonist of Tron: Legacy).
And ISOs start to emerge naturally from the Grid.
It's a conflict between the natural course of events and trying to have the control over it, over life.

Famous artist Jock (Green Arrow Year One) did the covers for this book, and it looks splendid.

A great read and easy read for newcomers.
Maybe a tad obvious from the start, and ending it on what seems to be a mid-note doesn't make it seem "complete".

This comic book was followed (story-wise) by the videogame Tron: Evolution. In which we see Clu-2 wage war against ISOs during the following years, before Tron: Legacy.

Check it out, for fans and interested!

I give it:

  2 / 3 Aaylas!

CBR Tron: The Ghost in the Machine

 

Tron's not only a series of movies and games.
Following it's cult status in the culture, various comics were published over the years.
Not as much as, say, Star Wars.
But some interesting pieces were produced that fans might want to check out!

Today, we'll check out the first series that came out some years ago!

NOTE! Read my review or play the videogame TRON 2.0 before hand!

Comic title: Tron: The Ghost in the Machine
Art by Louie De Martinis, Michael Shoyket & GURU-eFX
Story by Landry Walker & Eric Jones

Published by SLG Publishing
From 2006-09
Lineup Tron
Format: Collects the six issue miniseries.

As a big science fiction classic in the popular culture, it always surprised me how there never had been any Tron comic book adaptation for a quite long time.
That is, until the quite successful videogame Tron 2.0 brought back the attention for this "franchise" (which wasn't really one since before there had been only a single not that commercially successful movie) .

Around the early 2000s, with Tron 2.0 still fresh in everybody's mind, the publisher 88 MPH solicited a mini-series titled Tron 2.0: Derezzed....which in the end, never came out.
(88 MPH was struggling financially, near bankruptcy for quite some time, which made them also cancel a bunch of other books like the quite demanded Ghostbusters series)

This comic was cancelled before any issues were released...

Zoom back to 2005 now, SLG announced a new comic based on Tron, which ended up being this very one.
A big storyline continued the now kinda distant Tron 2.0, written by Landry Walker .
This comic ended up looking like a strange patchwork, kinda fitting for its plot, but pretty strange to jump into at first glance.
The first 2 issues were beautifully drawn, almost painted, by Louie De Martinis. It has a very odd surreal look, perfect for a modern take on The Grid. the following issues/chapters, by Michael Shoyket have a much more traditional comic book look, cartoony on some segments and definitively simpler.
Reading it as a whole, it doesn't detract from the content since the storyline is just as "patchworked".
Why this change in creative team and style? Well, I suspect it's because SLG simply regained what had previously been done for 88 MPH before, behind the scenes.
The authors never really shined light on everything that happened on this book and all its details, but that's what I think.

Now, what about the comic book itself?

Jet's back inside the Grid!

Kevin Flynn had discovered a digital universe in the 80s.
With Tron, a software designed by his best friend Alan Bradley, he had conquered and mastered the Grid.
Years later, during Flynn's disappearance, the son of Alan, Jethro Bradley ended up as well inside the computers while he was visiting Flynn's company ENCOM. After fighting the corruption and regaining access to Ma3a, a new program designed by Alan after the inciden from the 80s, he was able to access the Tron Legacy code and escape through the real world...or did he?

This story takes place about 6 months after Tron 2.0.

Jet was back, living as much of a normal life as he could..but things weren't the same anymore.
Was he really living now outside the computer?
Was this all part of the Grid's sub-routines making him think that while he was still trapped inside that world?
The difference between what was happening in the outside world and the memories of his adventures inside the Grid started to blur more and more.

A moment he seemed to be outside, in the real world..then the next were those flashbacks he was having or was it the present?
One day while he was running away from the police (or was it in the past?) Alan gets shot...killed..by the police running after him or was it Jet himself using the gun?

Things aren't what they seem to be...
Once Jet is able to get in the Grid, real or not, he will be able to make sense out of everything...

...Or will he?

ACTUAL SCENE FROM THIS COMIC!! No kidding!

You probably got that from my summary above, the story is a bit confusing and gets a bit sketchy for some parts...
Probably because of it's difficult production.
Though I remember reading the collected trade paperback (or all 6 issues back to back) rather than checking one or two of these issues.

It's a very dense and surreal story.

And is it really a bad thing?
In reality, I find this story pretty well crafted.
Landry Walker wrote a fantastic piece exploring and playing with Tron's universe.
Tron, unlike Star Wars, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer and many more cult icons didn't get much explored apart from a modern (well liked) videogame and finally nowadays a big budget sequel.
Rather than "expanding the universe" like most adaptations tend to do this book plays a bit with Tron's concepts and abstraction.
Tron's universe is in fact a pretty abstract one to begin with. If someone would really get inside the computer would it look stylish, like an 80s 8-bits game like Pong or all modernized like a "next gen" videogame? What if the world would be presented and reflected by that very same person exploring it? Are there some rules? How would we perceive such binary world with our senses?

The Ghost in the Machine is a pretty strange odd and unique experience. Affected by and affecting Jet Bradley - then, current main character of the Tron universe, even ~5 years later since his first and last appearance.
There's a lot of symbolism and metaphors (visual metaphors even). From Jet's very own "Wonder Land" through his escapism into his very own shaped reality we know as the Grid.

DEREZZED!

The book's visual art changes and moves around, as it change artists and content as well.
The confusion, what is real...what isn't... isn't clearly defined - thanks to all that.
Many questions are posed, doubts are created in the reader...nothing is clearly explained in the end.
For Tron fans that might not pick this one up, here's some spoilers and questions to ponder upon:

Spoiler:

But in the end...Alan Bradley is revealed to still be alive... Only to find out Flynn's also in the real world alongside the long-thought dead Lora Baines.
Instead Jet starts to ask himself if he's ever really been a user or just a program that dreamt to be more than just that.

Then he discovers he's only been a back-up file of the real Jet while he was carrying the too big to carry himself Tron Legacy code. Then this Jet-2 got split in three entities who each went totally awry in the Grid. The good Jet-2 backup fights the other two that have been trying to get rid of him to escape in the real world, absorbs them one by one...and makes the choice to stay living in the Grid even if he had the chance and choice to be able to escape into the real world.

Or was he?
All we are left with are clues...doubts... Was there even a real Jet? Is this all part of a back-up's dream of a real life...Did even the whole game Tron 2.0 actually take place?

At least that's what I got.
As you can see it's not a straightforward story, it's something to think about, maybe re-explore a second time over after a first read.

Overall, this is not what I'd call a mainstream comic.
Tron wasn't super popular back then (until the big blockbuster sequel Tron Legacy). This book served as a good opportunity to play with the abstract computer science that populates the Tron universe. Its semantics.

A pretty original follow-up to the classic movie and/or the videogame.
Though you'll really need to know one of those or both to really get it, it isn't reader friendly!

I'd say, it is a work for fans mostly, if you're interested in exploring the more metaphysical parts of the Grid. Hardcore fans and the likes~ 


Nerd-note: If you consider Tron 2.0 part of the continuity (like me!) or not with the new sequel (and vis-versa!) this book can still be perfectly canon with both ideas since as the decisions and choices regarding some events are left to the reader!


I give it:

  1.5 / 3 Aaylas!

VGR Tron 2.0

For a very long time since the 80s, director and Tron-creator Steven Lisberger had been trying to launch a sequel to his beloved cult movie. But since the series had never really been a big mainstream hit, a sequel never was on Disney's top priorities. That is, until recently.

Lisberger pitched many, many screenplays these last decades.
On top of these were mostly stories featuring either the son of Alan Bradley or the son of Kevin Flynn, in case the original actors were starting to get older for the roles and/or wouldn't manage to be part of the new movie.

This game is about the plot following the former protagonist.

Most of these scripts were either called Tron 2.0 or Tron Legacy - which are in my opinion, quite catchy names and fitting for this universe.

Let's check out the sequel called Tron 2.0~

VGR: Tron 2.0
From Monolith Productions/Buena Vista Interactive
Played on PC
Also available on Mac & Xbox or as an entirely different game on Game Boy Advance

Type FPS
Year 2003

Tron.
Just thinking about Tron always bring a smile to me.
I'm a big fan of the classic movie. Love the mythology behind Tron.

In the early 2000s, after a decade of trying to make a sequel out of a Steven Lisberger screenplay, Disney finally agreed, but decided to make a videogame out of it instead.
The task was given to Monolith Productions, a great developer known to fans of the FPS genre, responsible for such hits as Blood, No One Lives Forever, AVP2 or more recently the Condemned and F.E.A.R. series.
The early 2000s was in the middle of its FPS-craze (which quite never really ended since then, just evolved).
The genre had known a new revival since consoles success like Halo: Combat Evolved.

More than a simple movie adaptation, Tron was finally given a sort expanded universe.

Meet Jet. A.k.a. Tron 2.0 (or Alan-2).

Tron 2.0 starts Jet. More precisely, Jethro Bradley son of the original Tron's Alan Bradley,

The story is played through in the Grid, the digital universe from the original movie, but some of the cutscenes are played outside, in the real world and most of the game's backstory can be discovered through hacked E-mail in the digital world.

Here's how it goes:
(in detail synopsis, because I love this universe so much, and in case you decide to skip the original movie)
In the 1970s, the small engineering company called ENCOM introduced new revolutionary softwares, which changed the way data was transfered amongst networks and such. Behind all that, Kevin Flynn, a young promising developer. But it really was Ed Dillinger who stole this technology and used it to lead ENCOM to new horizons. Dillinger started to absorb these kind of programs and original codes into his own thanks to his very own Master Control Program. In 1981, Flynn was able to strike back while the MCP captured him inside the computers thanks to a prototype laser. Aided by his friend Alan Bradley's security program Tron, Flynn was able to defeat the MCP, gain proof enough and dirt on Dillinger from within the computer world.
Flynn got Dillinger indicted, he then took over ENCOM himself as the new CEO.

After a successful sequel to ENCOM's classic videogame Space Paranoid called Tron and based on Flynn's own digital adventures from the first movie (which would be in our real life the arcade game by Midway I guess), ENCOM was able to regain some marketing shares and income (action figures, movies...a whole line of product based on Flynn's actual adventure!).
Flynn grew a bit distant, lost in his own secret project we would never learn off in this game. (sequel material?)
Then in the middle of the 80s, Flynn disappeared suddenly.

Meanwhile, Alan and his wife Lora worked on reproducing the original digitization process that was lost in the absence of the MCP. Sadly, an accident involving cost Lora Bradley's life so it never went further on.

The Grid's ON!

Years later, Alan and Lora's son Jet was himself enrolled at ENCOM as lead game designer (it is a software company afterall). Jet and Alan never had a great relationship due to Lora's mysterious demise.
Alan had been working on a new governing program called Ma3a to help move forward the digitization laser...
That's when a new rival company started trying to acquire ENCOM, Future Control Industries (fCon).
fCon is slowly working its way over ENCOM's main grid, behind the scenes.

Things go bad, Alan gets kidnapped, Ma3a calls Jet on this by scanning him into the computer, fCon moves forward on its acquisition.

The first half of the game is spent as Jet tries to find the TRON Legacy code Alan was working on to protect its network. They face Thorne, an executive from fCon who was improperly digitized and is now spreading a corruption like a virus. The Kernel is after Jet thinking he is the one responsible for the infection.
Jets moves to the internet to find a compiler to help with the copy of the Tron Legacy program, an update to the original Tron program written by Alan Bradley to protect Ma3a. Then Ma3a goes "bad" and while the corruption and fCon spread over the Grid, Jets runs away.
Then the second half is the way back in, strucking against fCon, its digital agents the Datawraiths, digitized human hackers and putting an end to this assimilation. Alan and Jet break into fCon's server.

Alongside Jet is the hi-tech gaming AI program Mercury helping him out, be it against the pirate software or the viruses.

DEREZZED!!

Ok, I might have gone a bit overload with that description above. But I just love the plot!
Tron 2.0 seems like such a logical continuation of the series.
It's pretty close to the classic movie's story and expands on concepts and elements.

But what about the gameplay you might ask?
Well it is an FPS. Simple to get your hands on.
There are various modes.
The main campaign takes place entirely in the Grid. The objective in the game is mostly to collect different access to open and allow access to the continuation and next levels.
You can access and carry a dozen weapons or so and heal yourself thanks to the fact you are a "program".
It's a game where you control your "progress" and adapt to your gameplay. In that regards it's not that far from games like Deus Ex. You can level your stats in a sort of RPG-ysh way.
During your playthrough you'll find lots of software you can "install" on Jet (making him level from Jet 1.0 to Jet 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, etc..). The softwares you can have will be divided into defense programs, ability programs and weapon/attack programs.

That way the game feels really customizable despite its real linear and straightforward level design.

Also, similar to the classic Midway tie-in TRON game, the game establishes other type of gameplays.
No Tron-Tanks this time sadly. (apart as enemies at some point).
The Light Cycle sequences are back as very fun (though difficult) segments and a separate game mode.
The Cycles play as you'de expect (from a third or first person view you can switch between). As first it's kinda difficult to get you hands on, but you'll learn to play either with the arena's settings or the various power ups you'll grab.
You will also be able to upgrade the Light Cycle to a more hi-tech upgraded version at some point (and select between those two in the Light Cycle mode).
The goal is like in the movie, to destroy the opponents by driving around and crashing them into the jetwalls.

There's also an online mode but it isn't that much frequented nowadays so we'll pass it.

The Heroic journey of "Alan 2".

The game is fun.
It's an experience similar that what you'd find in games like Half-life or Bioshock rather than Unreal and co.
There's a lot to explore and to do around here.

The leveling is pretty smart, upgrading the version of the softwares your running. Like the movie Tron it's all about bringing to life abstract notions such as codes and viruses.
You have to play with the available memory, the free space you have, trying to keep your programs virus free, formatting, porting...
Viruses will infect you, "subroutines" need fragmentation... Each new level you'll be asked to equip yourself depending on the environment.

It's also great to have some talent back. Bruce Boxleitner returns in the role of Alan Bradley's voice. At some point, Alan will be digitized and wearing Tron's classic costume - great nostalgic moment.
Cindy Morgan who played Lora Bradley is also back though since the character died, she now plays Ma3a.
Also, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos plays Mercury.
(I originally played the game in french though, but the voice acting was particulary well done as well here)

As for the music, let's not forget to mention it either!
The tunes are great, kinda what I'd expect from a Tron sequel if one had been done in more modern times.
The main theme from Wendy Carlos plays regulary here and most of the scores sounds pretty close though modernized.
Guy Whirmore composed Tron 2.0's score in a similar electronic fashion. There's some electric guitars, some rockin' and some more techno bits, but it's all good.

Overall, it's close to the original movie spirit.
The visuals are beautiful and colored, similar to how the Grid ended like at the end of Tron.
The art-style keeps if from truly aging like others from the same era.
The plot is unique and interesting, highly replayable.

It plays great with the original movie's concept. It's like exploring a familiar universe, yet unfamiliar.
Unlike most movie-to-games adaptation, there's a great sense of genuine fantasy.
Usually they tend to fall back on the original material, linking up the authentic characters, places and elements, but here Monolith seems to go around, explore and play a bit with the content.

The Tron universe is also great, metaphorical where computer operations find a new context as people, places, etc...
The Progress Bat where off-duty programs hang out, corruption acting as a viral biologic infection, permissions replacing FPS classic keys, etc..
I just love Tron's mythology, very well used in context in Tron 2.0.

The game was also ported to Xbox under the name Tron 2.0 Killer App. (little bit of trivia, early in production this game was supposed to be called Tron: Killer App anyway!)
It's basically the same game.
There is more platforming elements in the campaign mode, gameplay was simplified for the console pad. The multiplayer however was expanded upon, with 16-players modes, disc arenas added, more light cycles options and levels, an overRide modes for systemlink (an FPS deathmatch mode).
And a second "Killer App" port was released on Game Boy Advence but it ended up being a completely different game with a unique story.

Finally, a little sidenote.
But I still think this game would have been better out under the name Tron Legacy (context-wise). Since one of the primary objectives was getting that code and then afterwards using this "legacy" to clean up and save the Grid...

I give it:

3 / 3 Quacks!